Trade Unions

Trade unions are demanding a role as stakeholders in developing corporate responsibility beyond social dialogue. In Spain, they are part of a workgroup formed by the Ministry of Labour between 2004 and 2007 and will be participating in the future national Corporate Responsibility Board created by the Spanish Government in February 2008.

Ferrovial respects its employees' trade union freedom in accordance with the legal requirements in each country, as well as the right to wage agreements negotiated by staff representatives and trade unions. It structures all of the above within a communication policy that respects the right to confidentiality of information.

A significant feature of last year's industrial relations within the framework of social dialogue was the leap in wage agreement coverage from 45% to 73.6% of all employees.

Ferrovial's dialogue with trade unions as a stakeholder in corporate responsibility is structured around initiatives promoted by the Global Compact, in which the Company participates as a member of roundtable debates. In 2007, Ferrovial held a number of meetings specifically to discuss corporate responsibility with representatives from the Spanish trade unions Comisiones Obreras and UGT, in which they expressed an interest in helping draft sustainability reports, especially aspects related to industrial relations.

As a first step, Ferrovial invited a trade union representative to join the group of experts who evaluated the focus and approach of this year's Corporate Responsibility Report. This line of work could be developed further in the future, given the great wealth and usefulness of the insights contributed.

Ferrovial collaborated actively with research on "The responsibility culture, policies and practices in IBEX 35 companies", promoted by UGT's Executive Committee and funded by the Directorate General for the Social Economy of the Self-Employed, the European Social Fund and the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.